‘Part of the legacy’: Memorial planned to honor 17 lives taken in Parkland shooting

Whenever Tony Montalto thinks about his daughter Gina, her best qualities shine through.

Her kind and loving soul. Her smile and the sound of her laugh. Her pleasant outlook on life.

Gina, 14, and the 13 other students and three teachers murdered in the Feb. 14, 2018, Parkland school shooting will be remembered through a memorial that will be located in a 150-acre preserve that borders Coral Springs and Parkland.

READ MORE: The victims of the Douglas High mass shooting

While still in its early stages, the memorial — and its serene surroundings — will bring many solace, said Mike Moser, chair of the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation.

“We really hope that it becomes a majestic place [where] the families and the community can come and peacefully reflect on their loved ones and remember the lives that they lived,” Moser said.

For Montalto, such a site will honor those who perished — and who they were before they became victims.

“They were parts of our families,” Montalto said. “They were parts of our community. Children with bright futures ahead of them. Teachers, who were also coaches, who gave so much of themselves to their students as well.”

Remembering the 17 lives lost

The idea for a memorial first came up shortly after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But about two years ago, a group formed, determined to make the memorial a reality.

They registered their nonprofit — the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation — with the state in 2021. The board’s leadership represents families of victims, first responders, community members and the cities of Coral Springs and Parkland.

Then they embarked on a search for a plot of land and were approached by the North Springs Improvement District, which provides water treatment, wastewater collection and stormwater management.

The improvement district was purchasing 150 acres for a nature preserve and offered the foundation space on the land for a memorial. The land, on the now-defunct Heron Bay Golf Club, stands on the border of Coral Springs and Parkland.

With the land secured, the foundation began plans for its memorial in 2023, posting a nationwide call to artists on Jan. 17. Submissions, accepted until March 17, will then go to the board and families for review — a process that could take months.

The board, Moser said, is granting artists creative liberty with the design but would like to see individual tributes for each of the 17 lives taken as well as a piece that brings them together. They aren’t accepting submissions that comment on politics, gun violence or the shooter.

The memorial shouldn’t be about activism, said Montalto, who’s also the foundation’s vice chair. It should be about the victims.

“We want the artists, the creators to dream big on this project,” Montalto said. “It’s very hard for the families to come together and imagine what it should look like.”

The whole endeavor could take years to complete, Moser said. Memorials for other tragedies, such as the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings, have taken up to 10 years.

“We hope it won’t be that long, but we do understand that this is not something that we want to rush,” Moser said.

Montalto believes the community needs a public memorial to heal and celebrate the lives of those lost because the one at the high school isn’t accessible for security reasons. It’ll be a place for visitors to reflect on their loved ones — and smile — as they remember the good times and not just how they died.

The memorial will bring peace to the first responders who, too, grapple with trauma after witnessing the aftermath of the 2018 tragedy, said Moser, deputy chief at Coral Springs Fire Department.

“There are times that our first responders often think of that day, and it’s not something that they will ever forget,” he said. “So the memorial hopefully will be a place that they can go in and try to reflect on the good work they were able to do that day.”

The memorial, Montalto said, would also honor the 17 victims as families have fought to pass state and federal school safety laws through organizations like Stand with Parkland.

“All these things are part of the legacy of Gina and her classmates and her teachers that have gone on to make others safer,” he said.

Years later, families are still coping with their loss a day at a time, Montalto said. Life will never be the same.

“We appreciate the fact that everybody gathers to remember the victims on the 14th,” he said. “But for the families, we miss them every day.”

To help

If you’d like to help fund the memorial, you can donate online on the foundation’s website or mail a check to PO box 8975 Coral Springs, FL 33075-8975. Employer matching is available for donations. Anyone wishing to submit a memorial design should apply online. Applicants must upload a resume, letter of interest and design proposal and budget as well as previous relevant work and references.